Offspring's Smash hit was trying time

The Offspring admit the massive success of their hit album Smash left them feeling "a little uncomfortable."

They headlined the Zippo Encore Stage at Download last night, performing the album – the best-selling independent release of all time – in its entirety to mark its 20th anniversary.

And while they are proud of everything Smash achieved, they don't want to accept the credit it was given for reviving the punk scene.

Frontman Dexter Holland tells TeamRock Radio: “We don't see ourselves as the guys who started this thing. We were fans of bands who came before us, and we tried to make the best album we could.

"It really caught on, and we're super-grateful for that. We're very proud it was an independent record that made it big – that was a pretty rare thing." Holland doesn't believe their achievement can be outdone in the future because "there are no records any more.”

But that's not the only reason The Offspring had a difficult time two decades ago. Guitarist Noodles says: "Kurt Cobain had just passed away – I think they found his body the day our record came out."

He adds: "The Ramones were still alive and playing shows, and not getting the respect or the listenership at the time that we were. That was just weird to us; that was wrong. But at least The Ramones were still around. We lost Cobain but we still had The Ramones."